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These clerks show that you can make a LOT of mistakes and still beat a robber if you do some of the most important things right! Hopefully this video makes us all consider our plan to supplement our attitude and skills.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like clerks doing enough to beat this robber? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against robbers?

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers.

One of the factors we see in injury to victims of crime is half-hearted resistance or half-hearted compliance. This amounts to an ego check or a will check of the armed robber to see if they really mean what they say they mean, and while that’s normal for people to do, it gets a lot of people hurt. Either comply fully with the criminals’ demands, or resist with everything you have to overwhelm the attacker and end the threat. Don’t go half-way. I like that these clerks went ALL IN on their defense. It was probably the key to their victory!

Successful self-defense against many attacks involves a counter-ambush, where the victim finds the right opportunity to seize the initiative from the attacker and launch an ambush of their own. That involves thinking and knowing your own strengths and skill set, and being ready to strike the attacker when your opportunity for counter-ambush comes. It also means not allowing the attacker to see that attack until it’s launched. The second clerk did a good job of launching a counter-ambush to turn the tide against the robber.

As a self-defender, you need to know when your firearm is a good tool and when it is not a good tool. If a threat rises to deadly the firearm can be an appropriate response, but you must know as a self-defender that the threat can come down from a deadly threat to a non-deadly one as well. If that happens you need to be ready to put your firearm away safely so that your response to the existing threat is proportional and reasonable at all times. This means having a solid understanding of your force options and having more than firearm skills.

If you have a firearm out, distance is your friend. A firearm has a functionally infinite range in a deadly force encounter. (yes, I know, that’s not 100% true…for the purposes of a self-defense fight, it is functionally true) If you are at contact distance to someone you have a firearm aimed at, you give them the ability to fight you for your firearm and negate the advantage you have. Therefore, if you have a gun on someone, stay out of range of their hands if at all possible! That was the biggest mistake these clerks made; they got their firearms too close to the robber.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This robber has to be the unluckiest idiot in the world, but he got what he paid for. Let’s learn the lessons these defenders give us in making him take the room temperature challenge!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this robber taking the room temperature challenge? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an armed robber?

Perhaps the biggest benefit of situational awareness is that it buys you time and space to respond to a threat, and time and space buy you options when considering how to protect yourself and your loved ones from a threat. Time and space give you the chance to escape and evade, or time and space to get your force multiplier in the fight, and time and space to better your defensive position and give you a better chance to be victorious.

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers.

A critical skill in successful use of a defensive firearm is a smooth, fast, reliable draw. You can’t use a gun that’s not in hand and on target, and 100% of gunfights involve getting your gun out from its holster and on target. In a gunfight, this is perhaps the most significant skill to have because it is the foundation upon which marksmanship is built. You must acquire a full firing grip on the gun while it’s in the holster, draw it out of the holster while maintaining trigger finger discipline, accurately and unfailingly bring it up to your support hand, acquire a proper two-handed grip, and press out while you acquire the front sight visually. And all that must be done with unconscious competence so that you can use your thinking capacity in the moment to continue to problem solve and deal with the threat causing you to draw your firearm.

In most instances that we see on surveillance video, the first person to put shots on target wins the gunfight. That’s not 100% because injured people can stay in the fight a long time, but it is a good “rule of thumb” because once someone gets shot they usually stop thinking about whatever it is they were doing and start thinking about the pain they’re in and how not to get shot again (we call that the FIBS Factor: “F&^%, I’ve Been Shot!”). The lesson in that is clear: be the first to put shots on target. (this is the corollary to Joe Frick’s Rules for a Gunfight #3, “Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.”)

An important part of stopping the threat is assessment. As a self-defender you have to not only shoot accurately, but know when the threat is stopped so that you can stop shooting and not cross the line into an attacker. That means seeing the target through your sights and assessing the effect of your rounds so that you can stop shooting when the threat is over. This also frees you to scan for additional threats and engage them faster.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This clerk kept her head in the game and took her opportunity to get rid of the robber. Would you have taken the risk, or just complied?

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this robber getting beat? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against a robber?

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers.

Don’t get into verbal battles with armed robbers, carjackers, or other attackers. As Greg Ellifritz points out, those verbal challenges are taken as personal attacks and lead to a MUCH higher chance of being hurt in a violent encounter. Learn the lessons he gives in that article about how to provide a “face-saving exit” and not get shot by challenging their ego!

Feigning compliance can be an excellent strategy in an armed robbery to buy you time to find your opportunity to defend yourself. The hands-up, palms-out posture tells the armed robbers that you’re compliant, and might give you the opportunity to defend yourself when they stop focusing on you.

Situational awareness is useful for more than seeing the attack coming, but also for knowing what is happening during the attack. In particular, if your awareness is strong you might get to see an armed robber put their gun away to use both hands, or you might see that the robber’s gun malfunctions or is empty. That information can give you the cue to act definitively to defend yourself by running or by counter-attacking the armed robber. This is not only why awareness is important, but knowledge of firearms and tools is as well!

Do not stay in the danger zone if you can possibly help it. So many times people get decision paralysis and freeze, but you cannot stay in a place where a deadly threat exists! Either act to leave the area, or act to protect yourself. Every second you give an attacker is another opportunity they have to do you and yours harm, so don’t allow that. If you can, get out of there immediately. If you can’t, then look for your opportunity to ensure your own safety by whatever means necessary. Before your Kung Fu, and before your Gun Fu, you should consider whether your best defense is Run Fu!

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

In your training, think about that last D of the Five Ds +1 as you watch this brave owner win the battle and lose the war against an armed robber.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this owner losing his life to the armed robber? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an armed robber?

The adage says, “You can’t count on luck, but luck counts.” Unfortunately for self-defenders, luck sometimes plays a significant part in the outcome of a deadly force encounter. I wish that it always came down to attitude, skill, and plan, but sometimes it’s the tiniest of margins that go one way or another to make the difference between a victory and a defeat. That said, there’s another adage that says, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” So do as much as you can to put as much luck on your side as possible!

Feigning compliance can be an excellent strategy in an armed robbery to buy you time to find your opportunity to defend yourself. The hands-up, palms-out posture tells the armed robbers that you’re compliant, and might give you the opportunity to defend yourself when they stop focusing on you.

In a deadly force encounter, decisions of life and death will be made in the blink of an eye. On the range and in class we have time to consider and to think and to reset and to make multiple attempts, but when the balloon goes up in real life you’ve got fractions of seconds to decide what the best course of action is to protect yourself. The way to be better at decision making in the heat of the moment is training, specifically scenario training and force-on-force training that is designed to work on decision-making skills under stress. It’s offered all over the country, so get training!

The “Five Ds Plus 1” are a tool that we use at ASP to organize our training and preparation for defending ourselves against an armed attacker when we are not armed ourselves. (or if we are armed but outdrawn such that we must deal with the problem with our hands) First, before the others, we need to control Distance. (it’s the plus 1…it stands by itself and is the gateway to the others working) Then Deflect, Dominate, Distract, Disarm, Disable. We pursue them from first to last, in order, to give us the best chance of successfully defending ourselves against an armed opponent. Close the Distance to the place where we can effectively use our empty-handed skills. Deflect their force multiplier, Dominate as much as possible (best is the whole person, second is the arm with the tool, last is the tool itself), Distract the attacker (usually using pain, redirection, movement, etc.), Disarm the attacker, and Disable the attacker.

Spiritual fitness is an important part of Active Self Protection. You don’t often get any advance notice of the last day of your life, but we see over and over that self-defense isn’t a guarantee of winning every fight you might be placed in. You want to be at peace with your loved ones and with God, because you’ll need that peace on the day that you meet Him. Since you can’t guarantee advanced notice, make peace today.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

I don’t think these armed robbers were expecting the veterinarian to be such a hard target! For most of us, though, fighting two armed robbers like this is probably a bad idea.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this veterinarian beating both armed robbers up? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against armed robbers?

Every person gets to decide who they are willing to protect. For some, their “flock” is only themselves and their immediate family. That’s an acceptable answer. For others, they are willing to protect their friends, coworkers, and extended family. For a few, it might mean being willing to protect anyone who is weak, powerless, and in need. Each of us must decide the size of our flock and have that decision firmly in mind when it is time to act. This veterinarian had a large flock for sure!

One of the factors we see in injury to victims of crime is half-hearted resistance or half-hearted compliance. This amounts to an ego check or a will check of the armed robber to see if they really mean what they say they mean, and while that’s normal for people to do, it gets a lot of people hurt. Either comply fully with the criminals’ demands, or resist with everything you have to overwhelm the attacker and end the threat. Don’t go half-way. The veterinarian went ALL IN on these armed robbers, and that was a major factor in his victory!

One of the most significant benefits of training ourselves to the point of unconscious competence is the ability to think under pressure. (the path to unconscious competence is different than most have been taught, as this article shows) If your skills are significant enough that you don’t need to think about the physical manipulations, such as drawing your firearm or countering a takedown attempt, your brain can stay engaged in problem-solving mode to allow you to make good decisions in the blink of an eye. (this is a concept that one of my most significant martial arts mentors, Skip Hancock, introduced me to)

To defend against this kind of attack, you need emotional fitness. Emotional fitness is defined as the ability to internally represent a situation or predicament to yourself in such a way as to make you strong and able to successfully defend yourself against it. Repeated practice and thousands of reps of sparring and self-defense absolutely build your emotional fitness to be able to handle whatever comes your way.

As one of my martial arts mentors, Skip Hancock, is fond of saying, the ground must be your friend and not your enemy. You must know how to fight on the ground and not panic if the fight goes to the ground! You must have skills from bottom position, from top position, and in the scramble. You must be able to regain your feet and fight from wherever you find yourself. Too many fights require this skill to ignore it!

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

https://activeselfprotection.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Veterinarian-Puts-a-Beat-Down-on-Two-Armed-Robbers.jpg12582240John Correiahttps://activeselfprotection.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ASP-Logo4-300x111-300x111.pngJohn Correia2017-05-20 07:07:152017-05-20 07:13:21Veterinarian Puts a Beat Down on Two Armed Robbers

He made a compliance sandwich with a side of chill for sure. If you recognized the jammed gun, would you have fought this armed robber for it or complied?

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this clerk staying calm during an armed robbery? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an armed robber?

You must accept that danger exists and that it can happen to you. This is the foundational core of spiritual fitness and the first step in taking proactive steps to protect yourself and your loved ones. If you live in a fantasyland that nothing bad can happen because nothing bad has happened in the past, you’re setting yourself up for a terrible letdown.

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers.

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but the hands are the windows to the intent of a person. If you’re in a potential conflict, ALWAYS pay attention to what the aggressor is doing with their hands. They might have a force multiplier in their hand, or they might be hiding their hand so that you can’t see what is in it or using their hand to conceal something. If their hands are empty, there is a difference between someone with fists and someone whose hands are open and relaxed. As a self-defender your situational awareness must include seeing the hands of any potential threat in your vicinity, so watch the hands!

Don’t get into verbal battles with armed robbers, carjackers, or other attackers. As Greg Ellifritz points out, those verbal challenges are taken as personal attacks and lead to a MUCH higher chance of being hurt in a violent encounter. Learn the lessons he gives in that article about how to provide a “face-saving exit” and not get shot by challenging their ego!

It’s a morally acceptable choice in an armed robbery to simply give the armed robber what they want. Only you can decide in the moment if the attacker is using their force multiplier as an intimidation tool or if they really intend to do you harm, and giving up your phone or wallet to escape the danger zone can be an acceptable choice. Either way, you must count the potential cost of your life vs. your possessions and take the best action that protects your life, which is infinitely more valuable than your things.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Because the clerk was aware, he was able to get there just a BIT sooner than the armed robber, and it made all the difference. Still, some more knowledge and skill with his firearm would have helped him!

UPDATE: the perp in this video also has a record of violent crime and was a fugitive when this happened: https://get-asp.com/1b5z

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this clerk beating the armed robber to the shot? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against armed robbers as a concealed carrier?

The “master key” to situational awareness, as taught to me by my teacher Lawrence Robinson and his teacher Skip Hancock, is simple curiosity. You don’t have to be paranoid! Instead, simply be curious of your world like a small child is curious of their world. Look around you and really SEE. Look for what makes sense in your surroundings, but most importantly look for what’s out of place and doesn’t belong. I like to think back to the Sesame Street song “Three of These Things” and remember to look for the thing that doesn’t belong. As self-defenders, you’re looking for someone who doesn’t belong in their environment. A person standing still while everyone else moves. A person in a hoodie with the hood up when everyone else is in shorts and flip flops on a hot day. A person loitering where people come and go quickly. If you are curious and looking for what doesn’t belong, you’re 99% of the way there to being aware of your surroundings!

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but the hands are the windows to the intent of a person. If you’re in a potential conflict, ALWAYS pay attention to what the aggressor is doing with their hands. They might have a force multiplier in their hand, or they might be hiding their hand so that you can’t see what is in it or using their hand to conceal something. If their hands are empty, there is a difference between someone with fists and someone whose hands are open and relaxed. As a self-defender your situational awareness must include seeing the hands of any potential threat in your vicinity, so watch the hands!

The “fleeing felon rule” generally applies to Law Enforcement Officers in the performance of their duties, and since 1985’s Tennessee vs. Garner decision the ability to use deadly force to apprehend a fleeing felon by LEO has been limited to cases where the officer has probable cause to believe that the fleeing felon is a continuing threat of serious physical harm to the officer or the public. However, how that law applies to non-LEO varies state by state. Make sure to know your local laws so that you know the limitations of shooting a fleeing felon, especially if you’re not a police officer.

Part of your training must be knowing when to use verbal commands, and when to abandon verbal commands and move to physical or deadly force. Many times self-defenders (and LEO) get caught in a loop of issuing the same command repeatedly to no effect. Using verbal commands is an important part of your force options training, and part of that training in verbal commands is knowing when to talk and when to stop talking and act. The clerk did a good job against this armed robber of not talking when he needed to shoot nor shooting when he needed to give commands.

You must know your firearm, how it functions, and how you’ll respond with it in the moment of need. Pressure testing your firearms manipulations in force on force and other training classes is critical because you need to know that you can get your firearm in the fight and keep it in the fight! If your habits will inadvertently drop the magazine or your grip will cause the slide not to lock back on empty or other induce other malfunctions, you do NOT want to find that out when the balloon goes up. If your reload takes more than about 3 seconds because of the position of your spare or other factors, make changes until it’s timely.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

https://activeselfprotection.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Clerks-Awareness-Lets-Him-Get-to-His-Gun-Before-Armed-Robber-Does.jpg12662238John Correiahttps://activeselfprotection.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ASP-Logo4-300x111-300x111.pngJohn Correia2017-05-18 07:54:362017-05-18 08:02:07Clerk's Awareness Lets Him Get to His Gun Before Armed Robber Does

Do you think that this concealed carrier did the right thing? The armed robbers had the drop on him for sure, but he might have had some opportunities if he was really sharp. Still, this wasn’t a terrible outcome.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like concealed carrier being abmushed? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against armed robbers as a concealed carrier?

The “master key” to situational awareness, as taught to me by my teacher Lawrence Robinson and his teacher Skip Hancock, is simple curiosity. You don’t have to be paranoid! Instead, simply be curious of your world like a small child is curious of their world. Look around you and really SEE. Look for what makes sense in your surroundings, but most importantly look for what’s out of place and doesn’t belong. I like to think back to the Sesame Street song “Three of These Things” and remember to look for the thing that doesn’t belong. As self-defenders, you’re looking for someone who doesn’t belong in their environment. A person standing still while everyone else moves. A person in a hoodie with the hood up when everyone else is in shorts and flip flops on a hot day. A person loitering where people come and go quickly. If you are curious and looking for what doesn’t belong, you’re 99% of the way there to being aware of your surroundings!

Don’t get into verbal battles with armed robbers, carjackers, or other attackers. As Greg Ellifritz points out, those verbal challenges are taken as personal attacks and lead to a MUCH higher chance of being hurt in a violent encounter. Learn the lessons he gives in that article about how to provide a “face-saving exit” and not get shot by challenging their ego! The concealed carrier didn’t challenge the armed robbers, and that was very wise.

Feigning compliance can be an excellent strategy in an armed robbery to buy you time to find your opportunity to defend yourself. The hands-up, palms-out posture tells the armed robbers that you’re compliant, and might give you the opportunity to defend yourself when they stop focusing on you. You can see that the concealed carrier here used that compliant posture to get the armed robbers to consider him a non-threat. That was good.

It’s a morally acceptable choice in an armed robbery to simply give the armed robbers what they want. Only you can decide in the moment if the attacker is using their force multiplier as an intimidation tool or if they really intend to do you harm, and giving up your phone or wallet or register to escape the danger zone can be an acceptable choice. Either way, you must count the potential cost of your life vs. your possessions and take the best action that protects your life, which is infinitely more valuable than your things.

A big part of emotional fitness is staying calm under duress and maintaining your ability to think and to act. The opposite is to panic and to therefore lock up and be unable to take good steps to protect yourself. One physiological hack that you can use to calm yourself, slow your heart rate, and return your mind to thinking is what is known as “combat tactical breathing.” Deliberate breathing controls your adrenaline response, slows your heart rate, and gives you a focus to start thinking again. However, be aware that breathing by itself isn’t the end; there are more techniques to center your awareness and bring you into a mental and emotional place of peak performance. With your mind and soul in control you can then take appropriate actions to protect yourself.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

These armed robbers thought they were going to get an easy score; instead, they caught a good beating!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like these victims getting busy? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

I don’t have any news on this one at all; if you have information, please send it to me and I will add that information to the description.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against armed robbers?

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers. These victims were hanging out on the curb, which made them a target that the two armed robbers on the motorcycle could easily rush up on. If you’re in a transitional space, be a little extra aware of your vulnerabilities and mitigate them.

Don’t get into verbal battles with armed robbers, carjackers, or other attackers. As Greg Ellifritz points out, those verbal challenges are taken as personal attacks and lead to a MUCH higher chance of being hurt in a violent encounter. Learn the lessons he gives in that article about how to provide a “face-saving exit” and not get shot by challenging their ego! I can’t be sure if the victim who was hit in this video said something to the armed robber or simply didn’t comply fast enough, but getting butt stroked had to hurt.

We must each be ready to face the cost of defending ourselves or others, as well as the cost of not defending. If you defend yourself, especially with a firearm, you might well face significant costs financially, socially, spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. You must be ready for those costs! The same holds true of defending others, and you must decide if the costs are worth paying for your family. You can expect to hire an attorney, spend time in jail perhaps, face social pressure from the media or family or your church, etc. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t step in, but it does mean that you have to count the cost and accept it. Certainly, to defend your life or the life of a family member, any cost is bearable. But whether you’re willing to pay that cost for a stranger is a matter for personal reflection and consideration.

The “Five Ds Plus 1” are a tool that we use at ASP to organize our training and preparation for defending ourselves against an armed attacker when we are not armed ourselves. (or if we are armed but outdrawn such that we must deal with the problem with our hands) First, before the others, we need to control Distance. (it’s the plus 1…it stands by itself and is the gateway to the others working) Then Deflect, Dominate, Distract, Disarm, Disable. We pursue them from first to last, in order, to give us the best chance of successfully defending ourselves against an armed opponent. Close the Distance to the place where we can effectively use our empty-handed skills. Deflect their force multiplier, Dominate as much as possible (best is the whole person, second is the arm with the tool, last is the tool itself), Distract the attacker (usually using pain, redirection, movement, etc.), Disarm the attacker, and Disable the attacker.

The “fleeing felon rule” generally applies to Law Enforcement Officers in the performance of their duties, and since 1985’s Tennessee vs. Garner decision the ability to use deadly force to apprehend a fleeing felon by LEO has been limited to cases where the officer has probable cause to believe that the fleeing felon is a continuing threat of serious physical harm to the officer or the public. However, how that law applies to non-LEO varies state by state. Make sure to know your local laws so that you know the limitations of shooting a fleeing felon, especially if you’re not a police officer.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This is a good reminder of the dangers of getting involved when you don’t have to; armed robbers don’t respect anyone.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this off duty officer being counter-ambushed? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an armed robbery?

The “master key” to situational awareness, as taught to me by my teacher Lawrence Robinson and his teacher Skip Hancock, is simple curiosity. You don’t have to be paranoid! Instead, simply be curious of your world like a small child is curious of their world. Look around you and really SEE. Look for what makes sense in your surroundings, but most importantly look for what’s out of place and doesn’t belong. I like to think back to the Sesame Street song “Three of These Things” and remember to look for the thing that doesn’t belong. As self-defenders, you’re looking for someone who doesn’t belong in their environment. A person standing still while everyone else moves. A person in a hoodie with the hood up when everyone else is in shorts and flip flops on a hot day. A person loitering where people come and go quickly. If you are curious and looking for what doesn’t belong, you’re 99% of the way there to being aware of your surroundings!

As each of us considers whether to be a Good Samaritan and step into encounters that do not directly involve us, we must consider the implications on our lives and families. Does your desire to step in override your duty to your spouse and children and loved ones? Or is it part of your care for your family to protect others wherever you can? We must also all realize that when we come across an incident in progress that it can be VERY difficult to determine who is the aggressor and who is the defender, who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, and that must give us pause as well.

We must each be ready to face the cost of defending ourselves or others, as well as the cost of not defending. If you defend yourself, especially with a firearm, you might well face significant costs financially, socially, spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. You must be ready for those costs! The same holds true of defending others, and you must decide if the costs are worth paying for your family. You can expect to hire an attorney, spend time in jail perhaps, face social pressure from the media or family or your church, etc. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t step in, but it does mean that you have to count the cost and accept it. Certainly, to defend your life or the life of a family member, any cost is bearable. But whether you’re willing to pay that cost for a stranger is a matter for personal reflection and consideration.

One of the challenges that is more and more common with multiple attackers is the concept of a “trailing accomplice.” What we see fairly often is a point man/gun man who launches the attack, and a trailing accomplice who observes from a distance and comes in when it’s time to secure what they’re after or after they identify any resistance. Just because you don’t see multiple attackers at the beginning of an encounter doesn’t mean they’re not there, so if you’re in a defensive encounter expect there to be multiple attackers.

Spiritual fitness is an important part of Active Self Protection. You don’t often get any advance notice of the last day of your life, but we see over and over that self-defense isn’t a guarantee of winning every fight you might be placed in. You want to be at peace with your loved ones and with God, because you’ll need that peace on the day that you meet Him. Since you can’t guarantee advanced notice, make peace today.

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